The emergency services were called to two road traffic accidents in the vicinity of the Willow Brook Centre last weekend.
The first incident, on Saturday (13th July), is reported to have occurred on the zebra crossing on the access road into the shopping centre, close to the Tesco petrol station.
Traffic coming in and out of the centre was gridlocked for a while as paramedics attended a cyclist who had been hit by a car.
Police say they were called to the scene just before 12.45pm and report that the cyclist was treated for what’s believed to be minor injuries.
The second accident occurred on Sunday afternoon on the stretch of Bradley Stoke Way alongside the shopping centre, at the northern boundary of the new 30mph speed limit.
A police spokesperson told The Journal:
“Just before 4pm on Sunday, colleagues in the ambulance service called us to a collision on Bradley Stoke Way involving a car and a motorbike.”
“The road was closed while the vehicles were recovered and the council cleared fuel from the road surface.”
“It was fully reopened just after 7.30pm.”
The 30mph speed limit on this stretch of road was introduced last year, following two serious accidents involving young pedestrians attempting to cross the road at informal crossing points.
The speed limit was reduced after 3,932 people signed a petition calling for the road to be made safer for pedestrians.
Photo: Scene on Bradley Stoke Way after Sunday’s accident.
How many more people have to get hurt for the council to build a footbridge or underpass? Suppose that’s not going to happen since money has already been spent on an inadequate cost saving measure already. If they put a chicane before and after, people would be forced to slow down. I find the new traffic lights, that are part of the measure, are blinding at night which makes it very hard to see those that want to cross. They should have put lamps in the ground so that the light moves as those that want to cross, pass over them indicated that somebody wants to cross from a distance. Growing levels of traffic and poorly planned roads will undoubtedly cause more injury or even death, if something isn’t done soon.
Kim, Bradley stoke way crash was a motorbike and a car. An underpass or footbridge would have made no difference as from as far as I am aware motorbikes can’t use a footbridge.
Also I agree the green light is very bright, but lamps in the ground wtf !
3,932 signed a petition, however there was no measure of those who disagreed and didn’t sign…
Seems these accidents were due to lack of driver attention. Speed cameras, lights and footbridges would have made no difference in either case.
Resident evil: wtf? they normally have lighting incased in heavy glass in the city centre to help warn on coming traffic that there are people waiting to cross the road. You should have a look, with the underpass I meant protect pedestrians and cyclist from getting HIT by motorcyclists and other vehicles, which has already happened. I’m surprised planes haven’t landed on that straight especially with how bright those traffic lights are… Absolutely blinding!!!
Everyone just needs to slow down, stop being so damn impatient and take note of everything around you. We may have speed limits but no-one seems to take any notice of them
Only bureaucrats hide behind figures, and just because councillor get the green light primarily from those that, in essence, didn’t sign rather than those that did, doesn’t necessarily mean that a solution is right or even works. Figures in this case just act as a political fail safe for when questions are finally asked about poor cost saving measure. We should now be looking at sensible and safe corrections to our roads and this may mean altering those that have been newly made.
J wrote: “3,932 signed a petition, however there was no measure of those who disagreed and didn’t sign.”
That’s not strictly true, as a number of consultations on the proposed measures were carried out, during which some objections were received.
See references to “consultation results” on our Bradley Stoke Way Road Safety page.
As a nurse who has looked after a child that got knocked down on this road last year, nothing has made me happier that the speed limit has been reduced. It’s easy to pass comment/ not sign petitions etc when it’s a stranger that’s been effected but the devastating effects on victims and their family goes on.
The green light is v bright though and either needs dimming or just a few bollard lights on the approach to the crossing isn’t a bad idea. I think in general that drivers lose concentration and speed but no amount of precautions will stop the thoughtless drivers out there.
As far as pedestrians are concerned, I feel very sorry for the boy who was knocked down by the motorcyclist last year with such life changing consequences. He was in my son’s year at school. However, I cannot believe taxpayers money was spent on a second pedestrian crossing so close to another. Are people that lazy that they cannot walk such a short distance? I remember being taught how to cross the road safely. Speed limits are not the failsafe answer. That’s why there is a road crossing point. Use it.
Why do the people on foot never take any responsibility? Yeah someone might be speeding but this happens EVERYWHERE and we all know it so just use your eyes first. Not the most clever of ideas to walk out into traffic.
What people need to understand that Bradley Stoke Way IS a busy road, and accidents are going to happen more than your normal sub standard road.
We got speed bumps on Brook Way, I just don’t understand why they can’t be installed on Bradley Stoke Way 30mph section. However some people just take the mickey when it comes to speed bumps and slow right down towards them where they’re designed from keeping you doing over 30mph.
Not surprised to hear about more accidents here such a same and what a waste of money the additional set of lights are, they take so long to change for pedestrians that most just risk it and run across.
This stretch of road between Tesco & leisure centre is terrible in so many ways, I drive / cycle and ride a motorcycle regularly in this area.
When driving I always think of that poor boy who was knocked down and stick to 30mph, problem is then you end up with another car driving right up behind you trying to overtake at the earliest opportunity.
Motorcycling is fun ! I did once ride my motorbike in the bus lane (which is allowed) but then someone just cut me up when the bus lane ended!
Now I ride in the main traffic lane but I even had a car UNDERTAKE me in the bus lane section!!! Also regularly get overtaken when I am doing 40mph further up towards Aldi, complete waste of time as any motorcyclist will know I just overtake them in the next traffic queue !
Cycling isn’t too bad, too dangerous on the road but the paths are plenty wide enough, by cycling you get a good view of the many drivers talking/texting at the same time!
They should have just narrowed both sides down to single carriageway like the rest of the B S Way, there is just no need for it to be dual carriage way or the car lane / incredibly wide cycle lane on the leisure centre side.
….
AO – I totally agree.
I did suggest in the original articles that a trafiic calming device such as chicane (NOT a bump) should be better used rather than a pelican/toucan crossing to force drivers to slow to 20-30mph near this section.
I would like to say that it is not always down to driver lack of attention. My mum was the driver in the incident with a cyclist on Saturday and the police have confirmed that the driver was not at fault!!! I was only behind a cyclist yesterday wearing no helmet and on his mobile phone!!!! We all need to take responsibility for our actions.
I slow down to 30 in the section around Willowbrook but as AO says you invariably end up with someone driving right up close behind you. I’ve also had someone in a car undertake me in the bus lane section and have on more than one occasion seen motorcyclists speeding up the bus lane, sure motorcyclists are allowed to use the bus lane but the speed limit still applies.
By far the worst piece of driving I have seen in years occurred a couple of weeks ago when Bradley Stoke Way was grid locked one evening. One clever chap decided that he could jump the queue a few cars at a time and then force his way back on to the right side of the road out of the way of on coming traffic just in time. Total madness.
The 30mph section should be added to the sites that the police regularly locate their mobile speed cameras. Without enforcement the changes seem pointless.
MB – agree, my wife and myself are both regular cyclists sensible ones we think 🙂
A few years back 2 days after we bought a brand new car a not so sensible cyclist rode into the side of us in stoke gifford, it was the typical scenario, winter dark morning, he had black clothes/no lights on a busy roundabout, he swore at her, got back on his bike and rode off so presumably realised it was his fault! Guess he has never driven a car so has no idea of a car drivers point of view like so many others and vice versa.
Just to add fuel to my comments from yesterday, riding home on my motorbike from Aztec yesterday 1pm ish, rode off the Aldi roundabout to go down B S Way slowly as people were waiting to cross, as I speed up a black Celica flew past me towards oncoming traffic and then accelerated up to at least 60mph (I couldn’t and didn’t want to keep up).
I did get the reg number but what can you do ???
This was my wife’s observation on Friday Night as I was driving towards Tesco’s on Friday Night, whislt telling her of the accidents that had occurred the previous weekend. She could not believe how quickly the lights on the pelican by the Three Brooks went from Green to Red.